Attribution: USFWS Mountain Prairie, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, is unable to restrain leakage from the keeper’s memory bag: “On rainy summer days when the haymows were full and the corn was nearly at its knee-high-by-the 4th goal, the farmers went fishing. “They tied cane poles to the sides …
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Category:Wisconsin
Kickass and Two Flat Tires
Attribution: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Midwest Region, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, is with the keeper this morning as he says “Oh, to hell with it, let’s go fishing!” The time is many years ago as the keeper and trout fishing companion John Lawton suspend evening …
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Kickass and ICE
Attribution: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, says the keeper would like to inform the ICE gestapo goons that as a descendent of Norwegian immigrants on his mother’s side he will not be going peacefully when the loony- tune squads arrive all masked up …
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Kickass and a Fishing Lie
Attribution: Photo by Jed Owen on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper in this age of lies and more lies, recalls “The Good Lie,” which was the title of a story of his that appeared in the June 1993 issue of Sports Afield magazine. It was about an old man–Ben Lusby and …
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Kickass and the Hex Hatch
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper reminded by son Larry of the days when this time of year meant “chasing the hex hatch” which translates to the two of them often driving at breakneck speed to get to the Mecan River in time for the nightfall hatch …
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Kickass Milks the Cows
Attribution: Jonathan Wilkins, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, as a former farm boy who knew the experience of hand-milking cows, laments the progression of the twice daily task to “milking parlors” and rotating stalls and the hand-over to immigrant farm workers. With that last …
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Kickass and Old Licenses
Attribution: Photo by Andreas Haubold on Unsplash Kickass, the doorstop dog, warns the keeper that it is possible to overdo in saving mementos as they are wont to span time on very rickety bridges and leave you stranded on an impossible fantasy island. So it was with the keeper’s 1944-1945 Wisconsin resident hunting and trapping licenses that somehow …
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Kickass the Bird Killer
Attribution: Alan D. Wilson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper began the day grappling with the question that has plagued him for the better part of his life: As he now lives amicably and supportive of all birds, can he erase that early part of his …
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Kickass and the Birds at the Arboretum
Attribution: Dori, CC BY-SA 3.0 US, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, does not always get involved in the keeper’s scientific projects, but was unable to resist as the keeper and Phyllis had a serious look at how they might share the exciting ongoing seasonal migration with the birds. First they checked …
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Kickass and Four Sons
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, noted the keeper’s delight with the recent posting by Becky W. of an old photo of him and his four sons at a long-ago rare moment when the sons were all lined up like innocent choir boys. The photo dates to the early 1960’s …
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Kickass and Spring of 2025
Attribution: USFWS Mountain Prairie, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis issuing the following executive order: All Wisconsin residents and visitors shall, within the next few days, immerse themselves in the birthing of the summer of 2025. It is a magnificent thing: trees in colorful new-leaf …
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Kickass and Hummingbirds
Attribution: Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, watched the keeper hang the hummingbird feeder off his and Phyllis’s 5th floor balcony railing and refrained from laughing at such foolish human behavior. (Dogs can laugh but they do it silently so it doesn’t embarrass their keepers who are forever doing dumb and …
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